A Golden Opportunity
by Songbird's Spirit
Summary: In the absence of Gilded Ginger, one must make do with words. And in refusal to follow a trend, Beatrix makes amends with the rarest of finds on the Far Far Range.
1. Chapter 1

Beatrix saw it before it saw her. It was just as shiny and enticing as the stories said, if not then some. Odd sounds emitted from it whenever it bounced about, the sun gleaming off its body at a near blinding amount.

She knew how to extract plorts from Gold Slimes. At least by the method in the stories. Beatrix would have to beat the plorts from the slime.

But she didn't raise her vac. Some part of her mind was screaming at her to take the profitable chance presented to her. But another part sent her pondering. Beatrix could only imagine -if the stories were correct- as to why the Gold Slimes were so elusive.

They didn't have a diet; they didn't even eat. So abuse was the only option for harvesting tactics…

How many ranchers had beaten this little slime since their arrival? How much abuse had been inflicted upon it?

The thought was staggering. Enough to twist her gut the wrong way.

Beatrix froze as the Golden Slime bounced around and eventually caught sight of her. The slime froze and hastily dissapeared. Beatrix remained rooted to the spot for a moment longer before resuming her daily tasks.

Strangely, the part of her that wanted to golden plorts wasn't riddling her with regret for missing her chance.

It was...nice.


	2. Chapter 2

It was an entire week before Beatrix stumbled across the Golden Slime again. While she was surprised she had managed to see it twice in such a short span of time, she did her best to pay it no mind.

Beatrix refused to partake in that particular sort of ranching.

Beating happy little Slimes for a quick newbuck...well roughly four hundred newbucks to be precise. It was almost as sickening as the article on Tarr Harvesting she had read.

 _Tarr Harvesting_

 _The act of Tarr harvesting is still in debate by the general science community. The ethics of this practice are heavily scrutinized, but until a final verdict is reached it appears that these testings will continue to occur._

 _The process includes binding a Tarr, and attempting to sort the creature molecules. This process allows scientist to extract all plorts the Tarr has ingested, in addition to the plorts of the Slimes or Largos it has consumed._

 _Tarr are mindless and hostile amalgamations according to our leading expert in plortonomics. These qualities will be heavily played in the upcoming ethics debate._

The act of killing the Tarr with water almost seemed like a favor to Beatrix. Nonetheless, she ignored the Gold Slime, favoring to collect the many Pogofruit on the ground instead.

Beatrix froze as the unmistakeable sounds of crackling roars suddenly came from her left. She thanked the stars above that her Vac already had 26 units of water ready to use. She jumped off the plateau, softening her fall with the jet pack, and charged the Tarr as it latched onto a Pink Rock Largo.

"Not today, ye' dirty heathen!" Beatrix scowled and held her finger against the trigger.

Carrots began to fire from the rancher's Vac. Beatrix blanched.

 _Of course._

Cursing up a storm, Beatrix hastily rotated the Vac's chamber and fired at the much-too-close Tarr Monster. When the amalgamation finally died after a few splashes Beatrix sighed and lowered the machine. Beatrix turned back towards pogofruit tree and was surprised to find that the Gold Slime was on top of it…

...watching her.

It blinked, and then disappeared in a dim flash of light.

After a moment of idling, Beatrix turned away and headed for the Ranch. Despite the early time, she was all too willing to just sit around with her captured cuties and spend the day personally caring for them.

She could use a visit with Charlie.


	3. Chapter 3

"How's my favorite Largo today?!" Beatrix gushed as she ran inside the corral, "Has my big boy been behaving? Yeah? Yeah! Ooh~ you big slimy cutie!"

Beatrix cooed and coddled her favorite slime; A phosphor-tabby Largo she had named Charlie. Charlie had originally been a Tabby slime, her very first slime to be exact. But after a mistake on her part with the Vac, Beatrix had accidentally turned her number one cuddle companion into a much larger glowing Largo.

Naturally, she had moved Charlie into the Grotto so he could still have some freedom to wander around. Sadly, she did have to build a corral once Charlie discovered how to leave the Grotto. There had been some pretty close shaves with Charlie getting out. Thus, Beatrix build the biggest corral possible, fashioning it with all manners of trinkets and baubles to keep him entertained when she left the ranch.

Beatrix laughed when her Largo friend almost immediately beelined for the Cuberry tree adjacent from its corral. The tree had bore fruit during her absence. Amongst Charlie's corral and the Cuberry tree, on the upper level there was a pond of puddle slimes. Beatrix laughed as she could hear them splashing around in their little habitat.

Beatrix spent the next few hours simply unwinding and playing with Charlie. Whether she was throwing him a Cuberry to catch or merely cuddling the lovable lump of cute, it was relaxing and welcome.

At least it made the place feel just a little less lonesome.

With a little bit of coaxing and pushing Beatrix managed to finally herd Charlie into his corral, groaning when he gave her an absolutely pitiful look.

"C'mon Charlie, don't give me that look. I love ya' bud, but it's dangerous to let ye' roam around. If the sun comes up ye'd be screwed." Beatrix sighed.

With a final wave goodbye Beatrix left the Grotto, blowing kisses to the Puddle Slimes who cooed and chirped in happy replies. The Rancher yawned as she made her way across the Ranch towards the overgrowth. She still had to feed the Honeys, the Rocks, and the Boom-Phosphor Largos.

Though as she walked the curvy path to the overgrowth, so close she could hear the clucking of Hen-Hens, there was an unmistakable sparkle blocking her path. Once again, Beatrix found herself faced with the Golden Slime. Beatrix had the feeling the little rarity was purposefully seeking her out.

"Y'know if we keep meeting like this I'll have to give you a nickname." Beatrix spoke up softly.

The little slime wiggled cautiously but held its ground. Beatrix felt her nerves and her hands began to sweat.

"How about Goldfish?"

The slime wiggled before disappearing in another flash of light. Beatrix chuckled, "I'll let ye' sleep on it."


	4. Chapter 4

Beatrix blinked, a quirky little half smile forming on her face as she awoke the next morning.

"Ah, so ye' came back."

The golden slime at the foot of her bed wriggled in what Beatrix assumed was discomfort. She felt her smile fall a bit but otherwise she was at ease.

"So, what brings ye' round here, hm? Or are ye' jus' curious?" Beatrix chuckled at the wary look the Golden Slime adopted when she started to move. "Aw, that's enough o' that. If I wanted ta' hurtcha I woulda by now."

The slime merely wriggled warily as it watched Beatrix make her coffee. "It's a shame ye' can't talk." She mused as the pot brewed. "It'd be nice t' know what yer thinkin' over there."

With a pop, the golden slime disappeared. Beatrix shrugged and merely finished making her coffee.

"Well, that was...something."


	5. Chapter 5

Three days passed before the Golden Slime appeared next. As it happened, Beatrix was playing with Charlie at that point.

"Oh, ya big lovable ooaf-!" Beatrix whooped a laugh as Charlie snuggled her to the ground. "Augh, oh the fearsome Charlie has bested me!" She wailed dramatically as the Puddle Slimes tittered gleefully in their water home above.

Charlie let out an odd coo of sorts, one Beatrix had never heard before. Only then did the rancher notice the familiar sound of twinkling.

"Aye, so here ye' be again." Beatrix chuckled and pulled herself out from under Charlie.

The golden slime merely watched her curiously.

Beatrix grinned. "Well, while you're here," she drawled and turned to Charlie, "I'll introduce you."

Striding over to her best pal, Beatrix grinned as she hugged the Phos-Tabby Largo. "This lovable largo is Charlie, he's my best pal here on the ranch."

To her surprise, the golden slime actually bounced over and made a few clicking sounds. Charlie chirped and cooed right back, sounding almost exuberant.

"Huh. Well, Charlie isn't the only one. My slippery puddle buddies are on the higher level. There's six of em'."

The gold slime actually followed her up the stairway, going as far as to sit on the edge of the basin.

"Heh, okay. That one there is Mudby, then over in the corner is Bo...and, ha, this one is Willow and the one next to them is Sampson. Then the last two over there are Luper and Plucky." Beatrix grinned. "They are just precious aren't they."

The golden slime chirped a bit and shockingly jumped in right alongside the puddle Slimes. The bunch chirped and clicked at their new friend and the blue dudes were soon surrounding their new golden friend. Beatrix just laughed as the golden slime played with the puddle Slimes.

"Well gee, now I have ta' call ya' Goldfish." Beatrix laughed.

Goldfish merely chirped.


	6. Chapter 6

Goldfish watched as Beatrix coaxed Charlie back into his corral with a sad look.

"I know you don't like it in here Charlie, but it's for your own good. If you go out there in the sunlight -poof! You'd be gone forever!"

Charlie just gave a grumpy chirp.

"I'm sorry buddy," Beatrix sniffed as Charlie finally got back into his corral, "But you're my best friend on the Far Far Range. I don't wanna lose you."

Charlie gave a sad coo and nuzzled Beatrix as tears slipped down the rancher's face. "I'm sorry, Charlie. I'm so, so sorry!"

The slime and the rancher cuddled away their tears as Goldfish hung around a ways away.

"I'll visit you tomorrow buddy, I promise." Beatrix sniffed and waved goodbye.

Goldfish bounced along behind her as she left the Grotto. "So that was part of the gang. You want to meet the others or…?"

Goldfish squiggled a bit and bounced over to the honey Slimes. There were three in the corral.

"Oh, the honeys? That's Sappy, Merrigold, and Poppet." Beatrix laughed, "Oh jeeze, Looker and Booket must've gotten out again."

Goldfish -somehow- gave her a questioning look. Beatrix huffed.

"What? You got a better set of names?" She grumbled and put her hands on her hips.

Goldfish merely gave a squishy shrug. Maybe. It could be hard to tell sometimes.


	7. Chapter 7

"Oh, fantastic." Beatrix scowled.

From where he sat on her bed, Goldfish wriggled curiously. To her surprise, the golden rarity had stayed throughout the entire day.

"Ever heard of Mochi Miles? No? Good." Beatrix huffed. "Her father is a corporate fat cat. Basically, he's rich an' she's got this uppity attitude with every other Rancher."

Goldfish merely squiggled again.

"She also has'a strange obsession with expanding the Plort Harvesting business. She'll send out these articles from time t' time." Beatrix shuddered. "They ain't real nice either. Here. I'll show you."

Sitting on the bed at a safe distance away, Beatrix opened the StarMail and read the article to Goldfish.

 _The New Uses of Tarr?!_

 _It seems that even more factors are popping up with the once-useless Tarr! Scientists believe, due to their unique genetics, it would be possible to use these beasts as fuel in factories and possibly your very own vehicle._

 _Further tests and approval is needed to expand and explore this idea. Though ranchers on the Far Far Range are encouraged to keep a Tarr or two in captivity in case approval is given to our wonderful scientific community!_

"Now, tell me that doesn't sound awful!" Beatrix huffed. "Just because a Tarr is openly hostile doesn't mean they can't feel pain. Those are Slimes in there…"

Shockingly, Goldfish hopped into Beatrix's lap and cuddled her stomach before vanishing in a bright flash of light. A small smile formed on the rancher's face.

"Well, at least you agree."


	8. Chapter 8

"C'mon Charlie," Beatrix whistled and headed for the large back exit of the Grotto. "It's dark out. Let's go explore the Indigo Quarry for a bit."

Charlie, the cutie he was, cooed gleefully and float-bounced after Beatrix. Following her onto the warp, the two immediately found themselves in the cave-systems of the Quarry.

"Heh, let's get goin' bud. We only gotta few hours of dark to roam around." Beatrix cautioned and lead the Largo out into the world.

Charlie seemed slower tonight than he usually was on their night walks. LeBeau raised a brow and patted Charlie's large squishy body.

"Y'alright? Do ye' feel sick?" Beatrix asked, her concern heavily weighing her tone. "We can go back if ye' want."

The largo merely made a deep clicking sound and nudged the rancher. Chuckling, Beatrix merely patted the Largo.

Until he kept doing it.

"Cripes Charlie, what're ye' tryin to do?" Beatrix grunted.

Charli merely rolled forward a bit so his ears were facing the rancher. Raising a brow, Beatrix huffed.

"What? You want me to get on top o' ya'?" She asked.

To her surprise, the largo chirped happily. With a moment of pause Beatric finally gave in and climbed on top of the wiggly largo.

"Okay, now what?"

Charlie answered her question by bouncing high, high into the air. Higher than the Tarr usually did in fact. Beatrix screamed, as she and Charlie began to fall...and then slowly quieted when their descent...seemed to...stop?

"What in blazes?!" Beatrix gaped. "Charlie! Yer' flyin'!"

The Largo chirped and cooed, bobbing gently in the air with Beatrix holding onto him for dear life. The rancher had to hand it to her friend, the night sky was simply beautiful from up here.

"Wow...Charlie." She breathed and took in the view, "it's wonderful."

Charlie merely squiggled happily in response and continued to gently putter along. Beatrix had to admit, maybe giving Charlie a bit more freedom wasn't such a bad idea…

If only there was a way to let solar-sensitive slimes become more resistant. She'd have to ask around or call in some favors. Worst case scenario, she'd be called a loon and promptly blocked from someone's communication network.

Regardless, Beatrix wouldn't deny her friend, or herself, these kinds of things anymore. Not if she could help it.


	9. Chapter 9

Goldfish made another appearance a few days later, making a point to walk around the ranch with Beatrix. The woman, however, was in the middle of a crisis.

"Oh, come on! Stop blasting everything for five damn minutes! Please?!" She groaned, shouting as she was thrown back by another explosion.

Gathering her vac in hand, the rancher quickly sucked the boom slime into the second slot with its corral mates. Groaning, the rancher checked her heart meter.

75/250

"Great," Beatrix hissed. "If this keeps up the health injectors will burn out before the day's over!"

Goldfish chirped from where he sat on top of the Plort Market. Beatrix chuckled wearily and offered a small wave.

"Hello to you too, friend. Hate to be a downer, but I'm a bit busy right now." She wheezed. "The lab sent me some new mods for the corrals. Unfortunately they aren't exactly boom-proof yet."

Goldfish let out a low coo. Beatrix merely interpreted it as pity and shrugged indifferently.

"There should be one more around here somewhere…" Beatrix murmured, oblivious as Goldfish bounced along after her.

As much it surprised her, Beatrix found herself already becoming used to the sound of light bells and twinkling that the Golden Slime emitted. The rancher wandered about for a few more minutes before finally spotting her final escapee near the cliffs behind her home.

"Gotcha! Ye' little rascal!" Beatrix grinned. Without thinking, the rancher eagerly charged towards the boom slime. The high warning squeal of the Golden Slime came too late as Beatrix was too close before noticing the brightly lit cracks of the boom slime.

The sound was deafening from so close as the boom slime exploded, sending the rancher sailing over the edge of the cliff, her ears ringing painfully. As she free fell, her wits returned surprisingly fast.

Not that she wanted to be conscious when she finally hit the Slime Sea.

"Shit, no!"

All of a sudden a loud keen cut the air and a bright flash surrounded Beatrix just before she hit the suspicious ocean. Bright flashing lights pulled at her vision as everything zoomed out of focus at light speed. Without warning, Beatrix's vision came snapping back as she was spat out of the slime sea and back onto solid land.

Her lungs were burning and her body was twitching uncontrollably. Unable to help herself, Beatrix scrambled to her knees and promptly vomited into a patch of grass beside her. Within seconds of emptying her stomach and collapsing, the faint tinkling of bells could be heard and the Golden Slime bounced worriedly into her field of vision.

The black dot eyes were curved to match its wary frown.

"W-what...wait. S-so you guys..slimes, really do use the sea to travel?" Beatrix gaped. "Did you...you just teleported me using the ocean!"

Goldfish was silent for a moment, but eventually gave a high pitched chir of affirmation. The woman shook her head in disbelief.

"Fuck...that's nuts." She muttered, eventually lying back down as her stomach threatened to rebel once more.

The golden slime gave another chir, but Beatrix only shook her head.

"Thanks for the save, friend. But I don't think I'll be movin' for awhile."


End file.
